New York - Earlier today, Al-Qaeda operative Ibrahim Suleiman Adnan Adam Harun, aka Spin Ghul, 47, was sentenced to life in prison following his March 16, 2017 trial conviction of multiple terrorism offenses, including conspiracy to murder American military personnel in Afghanistan, conspiracy to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, and providing material support to al-Qaeda.

As proven at trial, Harun traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan weeks before Sept. 11, 2001, where he joined al-Qaeda, trained at al-Qaeda training camps, and eventually swore allegiance to Usama bin Laden. Harun, also known by the nom de guerre “Spin Ghul,” a Pashto name meaning “White Rose,” then traveled with other al-Qaeda jihadists to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, where he operated under Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi, one of bin Laden’s deputies and a senior al-Qaeda military commander.

On April 25, 2003, Harun and fellow al-Qaeda jihadists ambushed a U.S. military patrol near the Afghan-Pakistan border. Harun fired machinegun rounds and threw grenades at American soldiers and allied Afghan Militia Forces while shouting “Allahu Akhbar” or “God is Great.” Two U.S. servicemen were killed in the attack — Private First Class Jerod Dennis, 19, of Oklahoma, and Airman First Class Raymond Losano, 24, of Texas — and several other soldiers were seriously wounded.

After the ambush, Harun met with senior al-Qaeda officials — including Abu Faraj al-Libi, then al-Qaeda’s external operations chief — to express his desire to commit acts of terror against U.S. interests outside Afghanistan. He specifically sought to carry out attacks similar to the 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which resulted in more than 200 deaths and 4,000 injuries.

In the summer of 2003, senior al-Qaeda leaders dispatched Harun from Pakistan to Nigeria to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Abuja. Harun’s al-Qaeda handler directed him to obtain one ton of explosives for the bombing operation and to target Americans — whom he described as “the head of the snake” — at embassies, hotels and other “places where they gather for fun.” Upon arriving in Nigeria, Harun recruited accomplices, scouted the Embassy and other potential Western targets, and sent an accomplice to find explosives. He also met with local terrorist leaders to expand al-Qaeda’s terrorist network in West Africa.

In 2004, Harun directed a coconspirator to courier information and materials from Nigeria to al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan. After learning that the coconspirator had been arrested in Pakistan, Harun fled Nigeria to Libya, from where he planned to enter Europe to carry out terrorist attacks against Western interests. In early 2005, however, Harun was arrested by Libyan authorities and held in custody until his release in June 2011. Harun was arrested in June 2011 by Italian authorities. He was indicted on terrorism changes in the United States in February 2012 and extradited from Italy to the United States later that year.
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